Preliminary assessment of factors affecting DOD facility energy management capabilities

The Department of Defense has a facility energy conservation goal of reducing energy consumption per square foot of facility floor area by 20 percent by the year 2000, measured from a 1985 baseline. However, shrinking defense budgets, downsizing and restructuring, and various management reforms are affecting the emphasis placed on energy management at DoD installations. At the same time, DoD is attempting to comply with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, many of which have implications for energy management choices. Unfortunately, the number and quality of personnel available to develop and implement energy policies on installation appear to be declining. How serious is this problem. What capabilities are being lost as DoD losses skilled and experienced personnel. What other factors contribute to these loses in capability. The work documented here is the initial phase of a larger study designed to address these questions by examining the effectiveness of DoD energy management at the installation level and the factors affecting energy management capabilities.